The Tolkien scholar Douglas A. Anderson, editor of The Annotated Hobbit, suggests that Tolkien derived the name … See more

Gollum was introduced in The Hobbit as "a small, slimy creature" who lived on a small island in an underground lake at the roots of the Misty Mountains. He survived on cave fish, which he caught from a small boat, and small … See more

In the first edition of The Hobbit, Tolkien made no reference to Gollum's size, leading illustrators such as Tove Jansson to portray him as very large. Tolkien realised the omission, and added in later editions that Gollu… See more

Commentators including the theologian Ralph C. Wood, and the critics Brent Nelson, Kathleen Gilligan, and Susan and Woody Wendling have remarked that Sméagol's murder of Déagol echoes Cain's killing of Abel… See more